He Has Three Daughters: Dana, Kelli & Jenessa
Dana Haggard was Merle’s oldest daughter, born to him and his first wife, Leona. When she was born, he was in jail for car theft, Rolling Stone reported. In fact, when she was just an infant, he drove up to a cafe and tried to pick a lock, not realizing it was only 10 p.m. and the cafe was still open. He was taken to jail, escaped, and was caught later at his brother’s house. After that, he was sentenced to five years in San Quentin. Part of the amazing nature of Merle Haggard’s story is how much he reformed his life and turned everything around.
Dana and her brother Marty started their own band at one point, called “Marty and Dana Haggard and the Driftwood Band.” It toured for three years. Sadly, Dana Haggard passed away in 2018 at the age of 61, Bakersfield reported. She died in her sleep, her sister Kelli said.
Kelli Haggard Patterson is Merle’s second daughter, born to him and his first wife, Leona. She said that she and Dana were best friends. “Dana was my best friend and we talked several times a day,” she said after her sister died. “Our life when we were young was very different from what dad’s youngest ones, Ben and Jenessa, experienced, so the four of us, Dana, me, Marty and Noel, clung to each other. This is like having a limb removed.”
Jenessa Haggard Bennett was born to Merle and his wife Theresa and she’s his youngest daughter. The name Jenessa came to Merle in a dream, Rolling Stone reported. Jenessa has been to culinary school and handled much of her dad’s business. In 2016, she and her husband Brian Bennett were planning to dedicate several strains of marijuana to her dad, Westword reported.